The Dreadful History and Judgement of God on Thomas Mntzer: The Life and Times of an Early German Revolutionary

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The princes are nothing but tyrants who flay the people; they fritter away our blood and sweat on their pomp and whoring and knavery. These were the words of Thomas Mntzer at the head of the massed ranks of a peasant army in the year 1525. Ranged against him were the might of the princes of the German Nation. How did Mntzer, the son of a coin maker from central Germany, rise in just a few short years to become one of the most feared revolutionaries in early modern Europe

In this brilliant work of historical excavation, Andrew Drummond charts the life and times of the man Martin Luther denounced as a Ravening Wolf and False Prophet. Drummond shows us Mntzer as a human being. Far from the bloodthirsty devil of legend, he was a man of considerable learning and principle, deeply sympathetic to the misery of the peasantry and the poor. In his short life he was beheaded at thirty-five Mntzer promised to fundamentally upend German society.

Seeking to save Mntzer from the condescension of history, Drummond guides us through the religious and political disputes of the Reformation, placing his life and thought in the context of those turbulent years. The result is a portrait of an often contradictory but always radical figure, one who continues to inspire movements of the poor across the globe.

Reviews

At last - a new account for our times of Thomas Mntzer, theologian and revolutionary. Drummond brings Mntzer and his world vividly to life. He shows us just why Mntzer hated Luther, and how he came to take up arms. What did it mean to be a revolutionary in sixteenth-century Germany - Drummond shows us. You will be gripped and inspired by this exciting story - I couldn't put it down. -- Lyndal Roper, Regius Professor of History at Oxford, and author of Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet
Posterity has endorsed not just Luther's victory but also his determined character assassination of his rival. Andrew Drummond's scholarly but eminently readable, thoughtful, thorough and at times witty biography of Mntzer redresses the balance for English-speaking audiences -- Professor Michael Russell, University of Glasgow
Among the famous figures associated with 16th century Germany, that of religious thinker and social revolutionary Thomas Mntzer deserves to be far better known. Andy Drummond's excellent, brilliantly written and entertaining, new biography delves deep into the archival material to draw out the history of a radical whose life is often obscured by propaganda and myth. As we approach the 500th anniversary of Mntzer's execution, this book is the definitive account of his life. -- Martin Empson, author of 'Kill all the Gentlemen': Class Struggle and Change in the English Countryside
A blisteringly good book about personal enmity, and the difference between revolution and reform. -- Daniel Brooks * Daily Telegraph *
Drummond's marvellous romp of a biography - part jolly Simon Winder-like deep dive into 16th-century Germania, part sagacious reflection on the Reformation in the manner of Diarmaid MacCulloch - aims to free Mntzer from his detractors. -- Stuart Jeffries * Spectator *
Drummond's biography of this volatile and subversive thinker is both highly readable and carefully researched. -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *
Andrew Drummond's skeptical and compassionate biography documents a life that is as much a warning as an inspiration to the modern left. Its evocative, exquisitely detailed panorama of Reformation Germany leads us to reflect on the tangled links between religious zeal and the successful exercise of political power. -- Michael Ledger-Lomas * Jacobin *
Full of clear, crisp insights that helps us understand the obvious yet surprising impact technology has had on art.
Perceptive and highly readable ... in Drummond's deft hands, Mntzer's story testifies to the extraordinary dynamism and fervour of the early years of the German Reformation. -- Bridget Heal * Church Times *
An engaging book that gives a tidy primer on Thomas Mntzer. -- Greta Gaffin * National Catholic Reporter *
Drummond's skeptical and compassionate biography documents a life that is as much a warning as an inspiration to the modern left. Its evocative, exquisitely detailed panorama of Reformation Germany leads us to reflect on the tangled links between religious zeal and the successful exercise of political power. -- Michael Ledger-Lomas * Jacobin *
Drummond makes a virtue of the scant information available...Those interested in the political and religious struggles that shaped the modern world will delight in this well-researched case study in zeal. * Publishers Weekly *

Author Bio

Andrew Drummond is a historian, novelist and translator based in Edinburgh. He is the author of four novels and, more recently, a biography of the eighteenth-century adventurer Maurice Benyovszky, as well as an account of attempts to extend rail connections to the north-west Highlands of Scotland.